Entertainment

30 Beats

Though shot several years ago, this slice-of-life pic is coming out at an opportune moment, set as it is in a heat-wave-fried New York City. But it fails to channel those waves shimmering off the pavement into sexual energy — a shame, given that that’s the central topic.

First-time feature director Alexis Lloyd, aiming to plumb the restless heart of our slutty city, follows a string of improbably behaving characters who hook up, separate, then hook up with someone else.

Lee Pace, Thomas Sadoski, Paz de la Huerta, Justin Kirk and Jennifer Tilly pass through in various sketches; younger actors Condola Rashad and Ben Levin are the virginal pair at the heart of the film, which discreetly fades to black each time two people actually come together.

There’s an argument to be made that sex scenes, done to death, are best left to the imagination — but only if they’re replaced by something more interesting. In “30 Beats,” the conversational foreplay is hopelessly flaccid.